“Some traders at Cantor Fitzgerald LP have responded to the Sept. 11 attacks by pinning pictures of former colleagues on their walls,” writes Gregory Zuckeman in today’s Wall Street Journal.

“Others take children of deceased Cantor employees to the movies or the ice-cream parlor. Still others can’t bring themselves to return to ground zero, or even to look at pictures of Cantor employees who died.”

“Whatever it’s taken for Cantor employees to deal with the pain, it seems to be working. Six months after the tragedy, Cantor has re-established itself as the dominant player in Wall Street’s bond-brokerage business, and its other businesses are back on their feet and growing again.”

“Cantor isn’t as profitable as it was when the jet manned by terrorists hit the north tower of the World Trade Center, just below the firm’s offices on the 101st floor. In the months since, Cantor has lost some market share in its core business of trading bonds, and it’s battling tough competitors and a challenging market elsewhere.”

“But the firm has made progress on its twin goals of rebuilding its business, while at the same time helping the families of employees who died. ‘I couldn’t be more proud of our Cantor and eSpeed employees,’ says Howard Lutnick, chairman and chief executive officer of both Cantor and eSpeed Inc., an electronic bond-trading platform. ‘We are one, together with 658 families, rebuilding our business and our lives.’ “

“No firm was as decimated by the attacks as Cantor. The lives of 658 of Cantor’s 960 World Trade Center employees were lost, from senior executives to mailroom workers. Whole divisions were wiped out and not replaced, including mortgage-backed bond trading through Cantor’s brokers.”

“Slowly, though, the firm has regrouped. Cantor earned just less than $20 million during the fourth quarter. While precise figures are difficult to determine because Cantor is a closely held company, executives say the most recent profit is somewhat lower than its performance before the attacks, but still surprising in light of the enormous disruptions the firm endured.”

“After early questions about the amount of time it took to tell family members about their benefits, the company is making good on its promises. Last week, Cantor, which has pledged 25% of its profits in the next five years to the families of lost employees, sent out $4 million, while paying $900,000 to cover their health care. (Those contributions are in addition to whatever insurance or government benefits the employees’ families also may receive.)”

“The firm also has paid out 2001 bonuses promised to the employees, and the firm’s executives are matching donations to the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, which has collected $14 million from donors around the world and matching funds.”